[jambutty]

Well so far we have a hung jury, which is something that I didn’t expect. I expected that most people would opt for getting rid of SH once and for all.

He was tried by an Iraqi court appointed by a democratically elected government SPUGGIE J, defended by Iraqi lawyers and prosecuted by Iraqi prosecutors. So to take him out of the country to serve a life term wouldn’t be legal. Even so, which country would be willing to take him and his cohorts and risk the fanatical retribution of the Sunni fundamentalists?

I agree with your SPUGGIE J that this is one humungous hot potato but in my view the best of two bad options is to hang him if that is what due process decrees.

i) The death penalty is always wrong as it is a hallmark of any brutal and oppressive regime.

Would you call the UK a brutal and oppressive regime when we still had the death penalty glasgow guy?

ii) His sentence is due to a slaughter that took place in 1982, but the UK and the USA were supplying him with arms well after that. Why did no-one object then, yet it is worthy of a death sentence now?

That verdict was just one of several charges. In any case is it right to charge the maker of a gun when that gun is used to kill someone illegally? Can Ford be held responsible for the death of an innocent person at the hands of a drunken driver. Or the brewery that supplied the drink? No of course not! That’s absolutely ridiculous. However there are further charges being prosecuted one of which relates to the killing of thousands of Kurds during the late 1980’s. It has been estimated that SH has been guilty of some 200,000 killings right up to the day that he was captured and in his name afterwards.

iii) How many innocent Iraqi lives are Bush and Blair responsible for taking, and will those two ever face the death penalty for their crimes against humanity...If Saddam is a murderer, the previous Prime Minsters and Presidents are surely guilty of aiding and abetting??

An interesting view point and worthy of debate. Sadly you will be trying to get the perpetrators to charge themselves so it is really a non starter.

Definately NO. I believe that God, & only God can take a life.

Is that the same God that ordered the death of non believers in biblical times AccyJay? Is that the same God that demanded the killing of people as a sacrifice to him?

No matter what the crime, nobody has the right to take another persons life.

Agreed but there has to be a deterrent to try and prevent the crime from happening. Following your religious lead, doesn’t the bible state an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?

Would the hangman not then be a murderer?

No! The hangman is carrying out the orders of the government and courts much in the same way that a soldier is carrying out his orders when he shoots and kills one of the enemy.

A coincidence is what it is kash. No one could predict how long the trial took. In any case if SH had not tried to disrupt the trial it would have ended weeks if not months ago. Apart from that he is still on trial for other crimes against humanity.

If he hangs - god help us here in the uk and america and to everyone in iraq. There will be revenge attacks. I havent voted for the simple reason i dont know. One with everything he did he deserves to hang but Two we dont want revenge attacks at our soldiers in iraq and afghanistan or attacks in this country.

Yes there are likely to be revenge attacks by the SH supporters shillelagh but they grow fewer by the day. However there would still be revenge attacks tinged with attempts to free him if he was just imprisoned for life. Imagine the scenario, kidnapping many foreign workers who are trying to rebuild Iraq and then demanding the release of SH for their release. It doesn’t bear thinking about.

The bulk of the Iraqi people want peace and a chance to get on with their lives without fear of being blown to pieces.